Helen Duncan

Modified: Wednesday, Dec 5th, 2012

Oct. 1, 1916-Nov. 28, 2012

FORT LARAMIE – Memorial services for Helen Duncan, 96, will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, 2012, at the Fort Laramie Presbyterian Church with Rev. Beth Wilson officiating. Burial will follow in the Fort Laramie Cemetery.

Helen died on Nov. 28, 2012 at the Goshen Care Center in Torrington, and cremation has taken place. In lieu of flowers, the family would request that memorial contributions in Helen’s honor be directed to either the Fort Laramie Presbyterian Church, the Goshen County Library or the Torrington Goshen Care Center. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Colyer Funeral Home, and friends are invited to send condolences to the family at www.colyerfuneralhome.com

Helen was born on Oct. 1, 1916 in Guernsey, the daughter of Andrew and Matilda (Runser) Winter. She grew up and received her education, graduating from Guernsey High School in 1934. Helen went on to obtain normal training and taught school on the Harris Ranch north of Wheatland for two years.

She then went to the University of Wyoming in Laramie, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in home economics in 1941. Helen returned to Fort Laramie, where she taught from 1941 to 1945.

She married Keith Duncan on March 30, 1945 in Guernsey. The couple moved to the family farm south of Fort Laramie, and Helen remained there even after Keith’s death until January of 2012 when she moved into the Goshen Care Center at Torrington.

Helen was an avid reader, and she enjoyed playing cards. She loved her family, especially her three granddaughters and her six great grandsons. She was a very active member of the Fort Laramie Presbyterian Church, where she served as deacon and trustee. She was a member of the Ladies Bible study group, and she taught Vacation Bible School and served as the director for two years. Helen was also a member of the Fort Laramie Cemetery Board and a member of the Fort Laramie Grange.

She is survived by her son William (Donna) Duncan of Ft. Laramie; a brother, A.R. “Pete” Winter of Ronan, Mont.; three granddaughters, Megan Duncan of Friendswood, Texas, Andrea (Brian) Dennis of Tuttle, Okla., and Jeanne (Aaron) Rues of Indianapolis, Ind.; her six great grandsons: Nathan, Henry, Andrew and Benjamin Dennis, and Joseph and Samuel Rues; and three nephews, Eric Jacobson of New York City, Dennis Winter of Ronan, Mont., and Gary Winter of Midland, Texas. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and sister Katherine Jacobson